Suspended Prison Sentence Handed Down Over Fatal Fall From Height

Employers Urged To Ensure Safety Is A Priority

18.01.2012

A Leicester man has been given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to breaching working at height regulations in relation to an incident which saw a worker fall from the roof of a disused factory.

Robert Jozwiak, 44, was working for Musa Suleman repairing the roof at the site on Evington Valley Road in Leicester in June 2009 when it gave way, sending him falling six metres to the floor. He died from his injuries shortly afterwards.

Mr Suleman was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after failing to ensure the work was carried out in a safe and supervised manner and given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years in a hearing at Leicester Crown Court.

He was also ordered to pay compensation to the family of Mr Jozwiak.

David Urpeth, a Partner and workplace injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said the work accident demonstrated why safety is a fundamental issue when working at height.

He said: “Like so many of the cases we act in, this was an incident which potentially could have been avoided through the use of the correct safety measures and guidelines.

“Falls from height can be devastating and, if not fatal, often leave victims with serious injuries from which they never fully recover. Because of this, employers simply cannot ignore their responsibilities when it comes to protecting workers from harm.

“It is vital that lessons are learned from terrible cases like this which will ensure that work accidents like this one are not repeated in the future.”